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Becoming a successful baccarat player doesn’t include just understanding the rules, playing the game by the book, following a strategy or learning the terminology. It’s more than that. It also includes understanding the myths and facts surrounding baccarat, especially the myths.
If you don’t make an effort to debunk the myths, and instead you accept them by blindly believing in them, they can easily cloud your judgment about the game. Don’t get fooled by any myths, because they are just that, myths. Something that the unaware falsely believe in and without a sound logic behind it.
Many of them have been resolved long time ago, and some still exist. The following list contains those that still persist in the gambling community.
1. Card Counting
Myth: Some players think that they can use card counting methods in baccarat, just as easily as they have been counting cards in blackjack. This belief persists because baccarat and blackjack have some conceptual similarities.
Fact: Can we really count cards in baccarat? Well, the answer is no, we can’t count cards in baccarat. This is because the used cards in baccarat are not returned to the shoe like in blackjack. Therefore, this fact alone hurts any baccarat card counting strategy. Besides that, baccarat and blackjack have important differences that cause card counting to be ineffective.
2. Detecting Patterns
Myth: Detecting patterns means detecting when a natural hand will occur (a hand of two cards totaling eight or nine). When a natural hand occurs, the player can increase their bet and thus win more money.
Fact: Baccarat is a game of pure chance, where virtually players need no skill. Although it’s a very interesting card game, you might just as well bet on a coin toss. In any case, you’d have the same chance of winning than playing baccarat, let alone detect any patterns.
3. Progressive Betting Systems
Myth: The most widely used progressive betting systems in baccarat are the Fibonacci and Martingale. These systems supposedly help a player take advantage of the probabilities and increase their bets appropriately, thus make profits.
Fact: These betting systems don’t work in games like baccarat. These games don’t abide by the probability laws. Baccarat is a game where randomness is the law. So, these progressive betting systems can be even riskier than they usually are. To use a progressive betting system in baccarat means having an unlimited bankroll literally. Why? Because there is a thin line between increasing your bet from $1 to $100 with these systems. Therefore, in case you have such a bankroll, knock yourself out with the Martingale or Fibonacci systems.
4. Online Baccarat is Rigged
Myth: Some people still believe that online baccarat is rigged. According to them, it wouldn’t produce natural hands. The reason behind this is that the shuffling is rigged, just because the cards are not tangible and the shuffling is not visible. And this is not the case with baccarat only; skeptics believe all online games are rigged.
Fact: This is a false belief to which online casino players can testify. There are thousands of online baccarat players that have had natural hands with each baccarat session. And besides that, online casino games are strictly controlled, regulated, and audited, at least those of reputable online casinos.
5. It is Hard to Win at Baccarat
Myth: There are casino players who wrongly believe that baccarat is one of the least profitable casino games. Such punters are usually those that don’t understand the game. They’ve probably heard that baccarat is playable only by high rollers and elite players. So, they probably think it’s not worth playing if you don’t have the bankroll for it.
Fact: Baccarat is one of the easiest casino games that don’t require much skill. In fact, baccarat is a casino game with one of the lowest house edges. Playing the banker bet involves a house edge of just 1.06%, while the house edge for the player bet is 1.24%. This is much lower than games like roulette or slots. So, you can be the judge and decide where it’s easier to make a profit.
Conclusion
You might encounter a myth regarding baccarat, so don’t let yourself fall for any of them. At least not if you plan to be a successful baccarat player. More myths will probably appear throughout the gambling community in the future. Myths focused on creating false impressions about the game, and unjustified quasi facts. But facts are your strongest weapon, so stick to them and be realistic. Don’t fall for any myth without researching about it.
FAQ
Let’s debunk some more legends and misconceptions about baccarat.
- How do you play baccarat?
Start by betting on the Player, Banker, or the Tie. The Tie is also famous as the Draw or Stand-off. If you want riskier gameplay with hefty payouts, you can place side bets in some baccarat variants. The dealer then draws two cards for the Banker and the Player each. The goal in baccarat is to get your bet closer to 9 than the other. In most baccarat games, betting on the Banker requires a 5% commission as this bet has an advantage. However, in online baccarat, providers use RNG to remove this advantage and charge no commission. Face cards (pictures) and 10s have no value, whereas other cards keep their pip value. An Ace is worth 1. In baccarat, only single digits count. For example, if your score is 13, the total counts as 3.
- Why is baccarat dangerous?
According to Forbes, baccarat is dangerous to play because of its volatile house edge above all. Additionally, this is a game of luck, making people easily wager money with possibly no return.
- Can you really win at baccarat?
The best bet in baccarat is the Banker. The banker’s hand in baccarat has a house edge of 1.06%. Therefore, if you bet on the Banker’s hand and it wins, you get a huge return of the money.
- What does baccarat mean?
Baccarat is a casino game of chance offering three main bets – banker, player, and tie. It is famous for its low house advantage which is also volatile, making it both a fan and casino-favorite. Baccarat is similar to Chemin (Chemmy) and Punto Banco and it originates from France. The word “baccarat” is a proper noun, which means that it has no meaning.
- How do you play the Punto Banco card game?
Punto Banco is a simplified variant of baccarat, making its rules similar yet simpler. US players usually prefer Punto Banco to other similar variations. In terms of rules, those in Punto Banco are fixed and there are no optional bets.
- Do casinos cheat at baccarat?
Firstly, casinos do not cheat at baccarat, at least not the licensed ones. Regulated operators adhere to strict rules that regulators lay down. So, we get the question “how casinos cheat in baccarat” and the answer is – they don’t. RNG software runs all online baccarat games, making all hands unpredictable. Also, any precious hand does not affect the upcoming ones.
